Firm:

361 Financial Planning, Inc.

Job Title:

President and Senior Planner

Biography:

First off, Martin Johnson loves basketball, especially Golden State Warriors basketball. He loves great wine, music, and good conversations. Helping people with their finances is something Martin has enjoyed for over 20 years because of the impact it has on them and their legacies. His mission is to help those who value good advice and want to spend their time on what’s important to them other than money. Money management and financial planning can be outsourced, spending time with your family and doing the things you enjoy cannot.

Martin has over 30 years in business and 20 years’ experience in financial services advisory. Being a graduate of the University of The Pacific, in Stockton, CA and California State University East Bay, Martin has deep roots in the Bay Area and Central Valley. Earning a law degree and being a tax practitioner has allowed him a unique perspective that most financial planners don’t have. That perspective has influenced his approach to financial planning to be more than comprehensive, hence the 361 in Martin's company name. 361 implies “greater than three hundred sixty degrees” or “something extra.”

In addition to volunteering for various community and civic organizations over the years, Martin has served on School Site Councils and on a city Planning Commission. In September 2015, he began a three-year term on the East Bay Leadership Council of the American Red Cross. Currently, he is a member of the Professional Advisor Leadership Council of the East Bay Community Foundation.

With a wife of 20 years and two children, God has been good to Martin. His daughter attends Carleton College in Minnesota, and his son attends The Athenian School in Danville, CA.

Education:

JD, JFK University College of LawMBA, California State University East BayBA, Communications, University of The Pacific

Fee Structure:

Fee-Only

CRD Number:

2496863

Insurance License:

#0B46254

Disclaimer:

361 Financial Planning, Inc. (“361”) is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), located in the state of California. 361 provides financial planning and investment advisory services primarily to residents of California and Texas. 361 will file and maintain all applicable licenses as required by the state securities boards.

This website is intended to provide general information about 361. It is not intended to offer investment advice.

If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact us by telephone at (925) 289-9929 or by email at Info@361Planning.com.

No, it does not make sense. In addition to being hit with the 10% penalty, you'll increase your adjusted gross income by $10,000, and this has the potential of triggering other unintended tax consequences such as phaseouts of credits or reducing your itemized deductions. By withdrawing the $10,000 you will miss out on the growth of the market that we are experiencing right now. Depending on your age, that $10,000 could possibly grow to tens of thousands of dollars before you retire.

A better solution would be to implement a "debt snowball" or "debt acceleration" program to knock down the debt sooner than later. You'll save interest and pay off the debt sooner compared to making the minimum payments. The debt acceleration program will require you to pledge additional dollars on top of the minimum monthly payment, e.g. $50, $75, or $100, that you send in each month. You'll also need to stop using the card because you'd be defeating the purpose of the program if you keep spending using the card. You can find example spreadsheets on the internet to help you set up the plan. You do not need to pay for such a program.

Depending on your credit, you may be able to find a credit card with a 0% APR for balance transfers. If this is the case, you may find an offer that has no interest for the first year of the transfer. In your case, a 0% year would save you $1600 in interest. Now, isn't that better than paying $1000 in a penalty, and increasing your income? Good luck.

As you mention, the market can take a downturn anytime. If that happens, the balance that you draw from will be smaller and if you continue to pull $1500 a month from the 401k, the account may be depleted much sooner than you desire. The only way to maintain a dependable retirement income is to create an income floor by converting some assets into fixed or guaranteed income streams. Creating bond ladders or using annuities are the two most common ways to create income floors.

If you are open to adjusting your income each year you might consider a Dynamic Safe Withdrawal Strategy versus the static withdrawal strategy what you indicate you're using. It is rare that a retiree's consumption remains the same throughout their entire life. Therefore, you may also consider Asset/liability matching with a "liability-driven" portfolio.

A liability driven portfolio is an investment strategy based on the cash flows needed to fund future liabilities of a retiree. This requires an extensive analysis of current and anticipated future expenses, a calculation of all available assets including real estate, pensions, and other assets that can be matched to future liabilities. Annual ongoing monitoring to make adjustments along the way is critical to this sort of retirement income planning.

The problem is most asset allocation methods often overlook the funding risks, like inflation and currency, associated with an investor’s goals. By integrating the liability into the portfolio optimization process it is possible to build portfolios that are better suited to hedge the risks faced by a retiree. While these “liability-driven” portfolios may appear to be less efficient asset allocations when viewed from an asset-only perspective, the research finds they can actually be more efficient when it comes to achieving a sustainable retirement income.

Whether your 401k allocation is advisable cannot be determined without a deep dive into your entire financial picture. This would include not only an assessment of your risk tolerance but, more importantly, your risk capacity. In addition to the traditional lists of accumulation-focused investment risks, you should consider Household Shock Risk, Spending Risk, and Income Risk when constructing an investment allocation.

There is a lot to consider.

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December 2017

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